The Al Ittihad vs Al Hilal confrontation is likened to the Super Classic of Saudi football, with many big stars featuring tonight.
The match ended, Al Hilal came back to beat Al Ittihad with a score of 4-3 to take the top spot of their opponents.
90+2 minutes: Al Hilal almost scored the 5th goal when Malcom fired the ball over the crossbar.
77 minutes: Saleh Al Amri faced goal but could not beat Al Hilal goalkeeper Bounou.
70th minute: Al Hilal make an improbable comeback, leading 4-3. From Milinkoic-Savic’s assisted header, Salem Al Dawsari fired a shot wide of Al Ittihad, scoring his 4th goal.
63rd minute: On penalties, Mitrovic makes a successful save, completing a hat-trick, equalizing 3-3 for Al Hilal.
62nd minute: Al Hilal are awarded a penalty. After a long counter-attacking pass, Michael faced goal and was fouled by defender Al Ittihad.
60th minute: Mitrovic cuts the score to 2-3 for Al Hilal. After a close-range header was blocked by the goalkeeper, the former Fulham striker kicked the goal.
Video of Mitrovic’s 2nd goal
58 minutes: On the counter-attack, Benzema was unable to score despite facing the Al Hilal goalkeeper.
45+12 minutes: Malcom hit the junction between the post and the crossbar, missing a chance to shorten the scoring for Al Hilal.
45+8 minutes: Hamdallah makes it 3-1 for Al Ittihad after capitalizing on a mistake by an opposing defender.
38th minute: Al Ittihad make it 2-1. A superb combination between Hamdallah and Ahmed Bamasud was finished off by Benzema with a delicate backheel.
Video of Benzema’s goal
Minute 31: Karim Benzema’s efforts have yet to yield a goal. This time his shot failed to get past the Al Hilal goalkeeper.
Minute 26: Hamdallah fell to face the Al Hilal goalkeeper but his shot eventually deflected off the post.
20th minute: Al Hilal equalize 1-1. After a cross on the right flank, Aleksandar Mitrovic made a spectacular volley, put the ball into a high corner, scoring for Al Hilal.
Video of Mitrovic’s goal
16th minute: Al Ittihad opens the scoring after a counter-attack. Romarinho made a precise finish in the face of goalkeeper and assist Abderazak Hamdallah.
Romarinho’s goal video
9th minute: Al Hilal are entering the game well and creating pressure on the home side.
5th minute: The referee stopped the game again. Poor visibility on the field was caused by fans setting off flares.
The Al Ittihad vs Al Hilal match begins!
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In this match, Karim Benzema recovered in time to start for Al Ittihad, while Neymar is still not in the Al Hilal squad, including the reserve list.
Squads of the two teams:
Al-Ittihad: Grohe, Al-Olayan, Sharahili, Hegazy, Bamasud; Bruno Henrique, Kanté, Romarinho, Coronado, Jota; Benzema.
Al Hilal: Muaiouf, Sahrani, Al-Boleahi, Koulibaly, Abdulhamid, Kanno, Neves, Savic, Al-Dawsari, Michael, Hamddan.
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Photos of Al Hilal’s final pre-match training session
Photos of Al Ittihad’s final pre-match training session
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Al Ittihad is so far experiencing a flawless campaign. In the previous 4 rounds, the team from Jeddah won all 4 matches, scoring 12 goals and Brazilian goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe did not concede. In the last round, Al Ittihad defeated hosts Al Wehda 3-0 with goals from Romarinho, Jota and Igor Coronado.
With this result, Al Ittihad is leading the Saudi Arabian championship with 12 points after 4 rounds, 2 points ahead of Al Hilal. However, they will be without top scorer Karim Benzema due to injury in today’s match.
Al Ittihad won their opening 4 Saudi Pro League matches
Meanwhile, Al Hilal entered the Saudi Pro League super classic with a slightly worse record with 3 wins and 1 draw. They won 10 points, scored 10 goals and conceded only 2 goals. The only draw was against Al Fayha in the second round, on the day of Neymar’s debut.
After his first training session with the ball last Saturday, Neymar no longer feels the thigh problem that bothers him. After training normally with his teammates, he is ready to be thrown on the pitch by coach Jorge Jesus against Al Ettifaq on Monday. However, the coaching staff decided to sit him out to save his energy for tonight’s more important game. That will be a stepping stone for Neymar to return to play for Brazil against Bolivia on September 9 and Peru on September 9.
Al Hilal won 10/12 points after 4 rounds
In terms of head-to-head history, there have been 48 matches between the two teams and Al Hilal are dominant with 20 wins compared to Al Ittihad’s 13, the rest are 15 draws. The last time they met was in the Club Cup when Al Hilal won 3-1.Remarkably, since the first encounter, 125 goals have been scored, including 72 for Al Hilal and 53 for Al Ittihad.
Al Ittihad vs Al Hilal Expected Lineup:
Al Ittihad: Marcelo Grohe; Madallah Al-Olayan, Omar Hawsawi, Nawaf Sharahili, Zakaria Al-Hawsawi; Fabinho, N’Golo Kante, Igor Coronado; Abderazzak Hamdallah, Jota and Romarinho. Coach: Nuno Espirito Santo.
Al Hilal: Yassine Bounou; Saud Abdulhamid, Koulibaly, Ali Al-Boleahi, Al-Shahrani; Ruben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Salem Al-Dawsari; Malcom, Neymar (or Michael), Mitrovic. Manager: Jorge Jesus